As most people know by now, Apple announced the iPad on Jan. 27th to much applaud and fanfare. Going so far as to call it evolutionary and “magical.” However, after the announcement there were many naysayers who were expecting a tablet style laptop, not a Supersized iPod Touch. Or the more humorous “4 iPhones Taped Together 1.0″ … at least on 4 iPhones Taped Together 1.0 I could multitask.

Personally, Im on the fence. I can see some potential, but I think it will be many months before we see really significant movement of iPads and iPad targeted apps. With that being said, lets take a look at this device from the photography side of things.

#1 Use of the iPad for Photogs: Sleek On-Site Portfolio

There you have it people, all laid bare, one sentence, no going on and on about potential. 500.00+ base price, PLUS a possible 130.00/year for 3G access … for a photo album. You see, potential is important, but potential energy hasn’t manifested itself yet. Unless you convert it to something useful, it just sits there. Besides, 500 bucks will buy a nice prime lens.

Yes, Im aware of the add on that *might* allow you to offload images from your camera or SD card … the latter throws the Pros out right off the bat. And even if they did support CF, a 64GB device isn’t nearly enough space. If I can only view images, again, there are much better products to fill that gap. For instance, Epson’s line of portable backup/image viewer drives. Look and backup at the same time, for less money than the iPad.

For other uses, such as web, email, and audio/video … there are cheaper and more robust alternatives to the iPad. One of those choices is the newly released Asus Tablet netbook. Some might scoff at the idea of a netbook, but a tablet netbook offers all the functions of the iPad along with the ability to shoot tethered in the field, offload new images, and isn’t restricted to draconian DRM rules.

In short, Im officially recommending that photographers abstain from buying the iPad for at least the foreseeable future, at least for professional uses beyond a portable portfolio. With that being said, I have a good feeling, given the past, that Apple will rapidly make strides to enhance the iPad to a level where photogs might be able to get enough use from it to justify the price tag. But until then … enjoy that new prime lens.